


Correcting the Moral Compass

by Luneykitty



Series: Teaching A Street Rat New Tricks [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Feels, M/M, Michael From the Streets AU, Movie Watching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 15:11:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luneykitty/pseuds/Luneykitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray had always been the one to make the first intuitive leap that got him just a little more behind Michael’s walls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Correcting the Moral Compass

**Author's Note:**

> Street!Michael AU started by Yetiokay, populated by many. 
> 
> I'm moving to my new apartment today, yey! I won't have internet for a couple days/weeks, boo. Have a quick little thing in the meantime and see you guys soon (hopefully).

Michael couldn't name when and he sure as hell didn't know why but somewhere along the way he actually started to trust Ray. Not just trust him to not poison the food or try and slit Michael's throat in the middle of the night, the real trust, the kind where you know that this guy has your back just because he's your boy. No drugs, no threats, no prostitution, no protection money. 

Through Ray he was starting to trust the others as well but Michael had always had a problem opening up to people and he didn't see why he had to like all of them like he liked Ray. Ray was enough of a strain on him since Michael had to take care of him now because that's what happens when someone is that close to one Michael Jones; he adopts them under his wing and makes himself their personal guard dog. 

Ray isn't satisfied with Michael only ever being comfortable around him though and does his damndest to get the older boy to give the others a chance. Usually it's done through some sort of reference or joke that goes right over Michael's head, which leads to Ray gasping dramatically to take the sting out of Michael's past life and introducing him to whatever meme or media he'd been talking about.

It was through this method that Michael was introduced to things like My Little Pony (which he wouldn't admit to liking even to Ray), The Lord of The Rings series, Harry Potter, and Pokemon. 

Ray gives Michael an old gameboy and his personal copy of Red, just to start him out and because 'everyone needs to know the pain of picking between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

This small gesture opens up a floodgate that leads to Pokemon battles connected by a cable, Michael's reading skills shooting through the roof as he spends hours pouring over Ray's Pokemon guidebooks, and the guys beginning to routinely bring over packs of batteries until Michael makes it to the rechargeable generation. 

Michael willingly sitting close enough to Ray that their knees touch and not tensing over the slightest sound started off as a shock and a pleasure to the men, the gents understanding the breakthrough it symbolized while Gavin whined about being left out. From knees it developed into thighs, then one day Michael escalated to laying his head in Ray's lap with utter nonchalance and making it his designated 'spot' for whenever he needed to grind before a gym. 

Ray had always been the one to make the first intuitive leap that got him just a little more behind Michael's walls and the casual way he begins stroking Michael's curls during these sessions, not bothering to look down at the boy's suspicious squint and instead watching the TV, is just another example of how much leeway Michael has already allowed the Puerto Rican. 

“Dammit Ray, how come you are so bloody good at that?” Gavin whines, sitting in exile on a side chair and observing the two cuddling with jealousy. 

“Just, you know, look at the similarities bro. Like Meowth said; the same earth, the same sky, that bullshit.” Ray smirked as Gavin immediately began grumbling and complaining about how little that made sense and how unfair it all was. 

“Meowth like Pokemon Meowth?” Michael asked from Ray's lap, lowering the gameboy enough to see the younger boy, brows together in question. Ray's smirk turned into a genuine smile, ruffling Michael's curls good naturedly. 

“Oh yeah, you wouldn't have seen it. Pokemon totally has an anime version and a shit ton of movies.” Ray removed his hand to reach for the remote, already knowing what was going to come next. It took some cooperation from Gavin to set up the connections and some searching on the internet before they found a site that had the first season of Pokemon dubbed. 

This innocent venture spawned what would later be referred to as The Weeks of Pokemon in which Michael forced the other five men to watch every single episode with him, ignoring their protests and glaring whenever they suggested watching something else. 

“Alright Michael, you've reached the pinnacle.” Ray declared one lazy afternoon towards the end of The Weeks of Pokemon, taking control of the TV and queuing up something he'd been waiting to show Michael since they boy had gotten sniffly over the episode where Butterfree left Ash for the girlfriend. He grinned as he sat back, hitting play with a flourish. “It's time to watch the first movie!”

While Michael watched with the thrill and wonder that the others had shared in on their first time watching, the other men were more content to watch Michael himself. He cheered for Ash and heckled Mewtwo, finding all the other trainers to be intriguing with all their high level Pokemon. 

The curly haired lad grew quiet when all of the Pokemon began fighting each other, chewing his bottom lip anxiously. When Meowth said his speech Michael took in a breath, seemingly struck by the so simple words painting such a simple idea; we're all really not so different. 

The tears had only begun to glisten when Pikachu allowed itself to be slapped, the tough street lad trying his best to hold in the hitch in his breath and the tightness in his chest. He couldn't believe that a kids' movie could be so moving but it was. The way Pikachu just stood there and...took it, refusing to fight...

In that moment Michael felt ashamed; he'd never been able to do something so noble as that little Pikachu. He was more like the clone Charizard going for the throat, aiming to kill. 

It was when Ash was turned to stone and all the Pokemon, clone and original, just stopped fighting to cry that Michael himself couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears just leaked out, his nose clogging up almost immediately as he hunched into himself, scrubbing at his eyes with a fist and trying to pretend the other five weren't in the room while his heart broke and spilled the pieces of his soul down his cheeks. 

“Hey man, don't worry about it.” Ray whispered from next to him, placing a comforting hand into his curls. “I cried my first time too. Even Gyarados is bawling like a baby.”

Michael focused back on the screen and yeah, Ray was right. The giant hulking monstrosity of dragon rage embodied was letting loose a waterfall all its own. The redhead let out a choked laugh because for some stupid reason the idiocy of that actually made him feel better and goddamn he was a moron. He was a stupid motherfucker crying over a Pokemon movie. How much more pathetic could you be?

Ray's arm slid around his shoulders and Michael allowed himself to lean against the other boy, looking away from the other four. He wasn't ready to take comfort from them yet but that didn't mean he'd missed the way they were all smiling softly, compassionately. The way Ray did. 

Actions mattered more than your birth, right? Well if they believed it and they really were willing to trust him the way he trusted Ray...

Maybe he would start acting like the man they thought he could be, instead of being the street rat he was born as.


End file.
